Alleged NMU rape suspect expected in court on Friday

Oct 4, 2017

A 29-year-old man is expected to appear in the Port Elizabeth Magistrate's Court on Friday after he was arrested by the Family Violence Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit in Port Elizabeth, assisted by SAPS Humewood and PE Flying Squad, for the alleged rape and stabbing incident that took place at the Nelson Mandela University's 2nd Avenue Campus computer labs on Monday night.

"On Monday, at about 19:30, a 25-year-old Nelson Mandela University student was allegedly raped and her friend stabbed at the 2nd Avenue campus," said police police spokesperson, Col Priscilla Naidu.

"The two students were busy in the computer lab when the suspect entered and threatened them with a pair of scissors.

"One of the student’s was allegedly raped in the lab. Thereafter the suspect took a computer box and monitor as well as a cell phone belonging to one of the victim’s."

She said that the suspect was arrested at around 15:00 on Wednesday afternoon in Govan Mbeki Avenue, in Central, Port Elizabeth, in possession of the computer and the cell phone.

He will appear in the Port Elizabeth Magistrate's Court on charges of rape and robbery.

The Cluster Commander for Mount Road Cluster, Maj Gen Funeka Siganga commended the FCS unit and all other units that played a major role in effecting the arrest.

"Reducing the incidence of crimes against women and children remains one of the key strategic priorities of the South African Police Service. The FCS unit is a specialist environment established to deal with gender based violent crimes including sexual offences and to protect the rights and dignity of victims of abuse by ensuring that these crimes are thoroughly investigated, perpetrators arrested and brought before court," added Maj Gen Siganga.

The hunt for a gang that stormed a police station in Ngcobo in the early hours of Wednesday morning and killed five police officers as well as an off-duty soldier continued on Thursday with authorities calling on the public for leads that can help in their investigations...